Mega Man Zero: Warrior of the Wasteland
by Sproggo
Summary: It's been six months since Zero took down Copy X and left Ciel and the resistance. Now he roams what's left of the world, battling his inner demons, and trying to survive. In his travels he comes across a colony full of slaves; ruled by the vicious Lady Vile, and her savage enforcers. Will Zero help by ending the rein of the Mad Tyrant, or will he lose himself to the wasteland?
1. Prologue

_**A/N: This is my first story that I'm writing as a member of this site. I feel that this is a site where I can grow as a writer, and improve upon my writing skills. Feel free to give any feedback. I want to know how I can improve.**_

 _ **As for the story, with Mega Man 11 coming out, I figured that now would be a great time to write a story about The Mega Man franchise, more specifically Mega Man Zero. (I know that it's a classic Mega Man game coming out, but sue me).**_

 _ **Here's the basic premise: (SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE ZERO SERIES). We know from the later games that the world was almost destroyed in the elf wars before the games took place; and that Neo Arcadia is one of the last places where it is safe for anyone to live, and that there's also an energy crisis going on.**_

 _ **This got me thinking that "There's no way all the humans in the world are at that place, there's got to be at least a few humans or reploids out there in what's left of the world, and they're most likely fighting over what little energy or resources remain." (Like Mad Max or Fallout). So the idea behind this is that Zero, after the events of the first game, goes out into this crazy place to fend for himself; while trying to make peace with his inner demons. It takes place 6 months after the events of the first game, as it's implied from the Zero 2 intro that he left Ciel and the resistance for about a year.**_

 _ **This story will draw heavily from George Miller's Mad Max franchise (More specifically Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome). So if you feel that it's kinda similar to those films, that's why.**_

 _ **Megaman/Rockman Zero is owned by Capcom, all original characters are owned by me.**_

 _ **Without further ado, I'll let the story begin, and feel free to leave comments and reviews!**_

 _Time moves and doesn't stop for a single soul until they fade away and leave behind only their memories. Be they of the ones they loved, the legacy they left, or of this broken world. My memories are no exception, but there is one that stands out above all, that of the legendary one, Zero…_

 _To understand his story you'd have to go back long ago; when the world relied on the powers of the man-made men. Beings with wires and cogs as their brains and guts. Their powers were meant to change the world for the better, but they seemed to change the world for the worse._

 _For reasons too childish to remember, two men with brains filled with smarts went to war with each other, using man-made men as their soldiers. The world would've been lost, had a blue hero not stepped forward to end the conflict. While the hero's work certainly helped, the war truly came to an end when the two men grew old, and were reaching the end of their lives, but they did not leave the world of the past without planting the seeds of the future…_

 _It was during the early stages of the before time when the seeds had finally grown to bear the fruit of the future: Man-made men with their own souls, and without masters to tell them what to do._

 _This power was soon given to many more man-made men. Now called reploids, they re-shaped the world like never before. For a time, it seemed as though the dreams of peace from the past would finally come true._

 _But such hopes remained only dreams…_

 _A plague of madness believed to originate from the first war spread across the world, corrupting even the purest of reploids. They went to war with each other, ripping apart whoever, or whatever stood in their way._

 _There were some, however, who tried to use words as their weapons instead of firearms. They were convinced that the conflict could be solved peacefully by talking it out amongst each other. Though noble in their cause their efforts were futile. The damage had already been done._

 _After many years of war amongst both reploid and human, the world fell apart. Cities abandoned and in ruin, energy scarce, and the deaths uncountable._

 _Those who survived the wars now faced a new horror: the wasteland. Great plains of sand and rock with faded memories of what once was. A world where only those brutal enough harm the innocent, and cruel enough to kill them would survive. It was in the chaos of this cursed place that even the purest and most noble of beings were torn apart, and became shells of their former selves._

 _Those such as Zero, the fighter, the legend…_

 _Believed to have been one of the reploids ever built, Zero was a mighty warrior who slew those who dared prey on the innocent and defended those who couldn't defend themselves. Many saw him as a hero, even though he quite feel so himself; especially when he made a horrifying discovery: The same plague that had started the wars had come had originated from him. Though he did not do this intentionally, all the death and destruction caused by all the wars weighed heavily on conscience. Feeling immense guilt for all that had happened as if it were directly his fault, he banished himself to eternal slumber; so that he could never harm anyone ever again._

 _However, Zero was awakened once more, and into the remains of this wasted land. He had been awakened by a small tribe of man-made men who were led by a clever girl. They were seeking help due to being persecuted by a powerful tribe, who resided in a great city, an oasis that provided safety from the harshness of the wasteland._

 _Though his memory was weak, he still remembered the pain he supposedly caused others. Determined to right his wrongs and give himself a purpose, took the life of the large tribe's leader, a copy of another legendary hero, a fake. He had become the small tribe's savior, but he also feared that if he stayed with them, he would be their demise as well; as no doubt, many from the larger tribe would be after him and anyone he was close to._

 _So he left the small tribe so that they would be safe from him, and became a shell of his former self. A man who went into the wasteland with no intention of leaving, a man too dangerous to depend upon, a man with no purpose._

 _But it was here, in this mess of a world, that Zero learned what he was truly fighting for..._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

The roar of an engine echoed throughout the desert as a dusty, beaten-up, black and crimson motorcycle zoomed along the faded, crack-filled tarmac. Zero's face was full of wind as his hands squeezed the handlebars, eyes always forward.

He had become accustomed to this feeling for the past months. Especially ever since he found the bike. It served as his ride, his Godsend, his only companion in a world gone crazy. The bike was the one thing that kept him alive and kept him going throughout the long days that had come after leaving Ciel and all of the Resistance.

The day had started like any other: Wake up after a horrific sleep, break down what little camp there was, and ride throughout the land searching for fuel and energy. Other than that he always found himself doing one of two things: Watching, or running.

Out of the two, Zero had done watching the most. It was the one choice that didn't involve conflict. As for what he watched, it usually remained the same: Chases and attacks against those who couldn't fend for themselves, at least not to the level of their attackers. He would often find himself at the small end of a pair of binoculars from a safe distance, watching the horror going on. Then once it was all over Zero would enter the abandoned battlefield, searching for any spoils that had been forgotten in the chaos. After collecting what he could find, Zero would leave, and never look back.

The second of the two things was running, he didn't do this often, but like watching it always ended up the same way. A group of raiders would drive up to him in their vehicles (be it bike or car or truck) and try to run him off the road. Despite their efforts, Zero would always either outrun them, or run them off the road with help from his Z Saber, or buster.

This was his daily routine. Lather, rinse, repeat. Day in, day out. The days blending together, repeating like a broken record.

After riding the abandoned highway for a majority of the day, he was now scouting out for a safe place to set up camp. The sun was starting to slowly disappear over the west, and turn from yellow to a light shade of orange.

He hadn't found much today; only some abandoned vehicles, with little or no fuel in their tanks. This would pose a problem for him. Being a reploid, he got his energy from the same fuel that powered his vehicle; so whenever he found a form of energy he would split it between himself and his vehicle. He could've conserved energy by prolonging his rest, but that could cause internal damage to his system if not carefully monitored.

Zero thought about these things as he rode through the land, he also thought about the resistance, more specifically Ciel. The girl that had awakened him from his slumber six months ago never left his thoughts, he often thought about if she and the other members of the resistance were still alive.

They're fine Zero would tell himself. It was for the best if he stayed, they'd be dead because of him. It's good that they didn't have someone like him with them. A warrior, a fighter, a protector…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of an engine behind him. He was all too familiar with this sound, and he knew what it meant. Sighing silently to himself, he slowly reached for his buster and he looked into his mirror to see what he was up against.

An old beat up, olive green pick-up truck appeared over the horizon, accelerating along the road and showing no signs of stopping. When he looked in the windshield, he could make out two figures behind it, one was a man with brown hair and determined look on his face, the other a woman with long black, and a look of desperation and fear.

Zero had dealt with vehicles like this before, he figured he could either outrun them, or he could use his buster or saber to cripple the truck. His hand soon found his buster in his holster, he gripped it and prepared for the worst.

The truck was getting closer, and closer. Never slowing down. Zero got to the opposite side of the truck on the road. Ready to for the driver's attack…

But it never came. He saw a flash of green, and the back of a truck filled with what appeared to be fuel drums in front of him, and then it raced down the road. Once the truck passed, Zero pulled over to the side of the road, puzzled.

Well. This was unexpected. Usually, when Zero encountered another vehicle, a chase would ensue. But the driver of the truck just passed right by him as if he wasn't even there (not that he was complaining). He remembered that determined look in the driver's eyes as if they were glued to what was in front of him, and nothing else. Wanting to ignore everything that was behind them.

As if they were running away from something…

Soon the sound of an engine came from behind him once more, only now it was slightly louder than before. Without thinking twice, Zero revved up his bike; and accelerated along the road once more. He then looked into his mirror and saw his suspicions proved right.

Four vehicles were speeding along the road from behind. One a dusty dirt bike, with a just as dusty rider covered in leather. Then there were two beaten up sports cars, one black with the engine exposed over the hood, the other a faded shade of red.

But the one that stood out among the group was a humongous red truck. It's front prongs stood out like spikes, and the slightly exposed engine roared like a lion. It had two wheels in the front, and four in the back. On the sides of the front near the driver's side were small blue canisters that were each connected to a hose that led to the main engine. Finally, at the top of the truck stood the exposed driver seat. As for the driver they had black hair with a small stripe of red; a pair of goggles covered their eyes, and covering their mouth was a tan bandanna.

The driver of the truck accelerated alongside Zero's left. He could now see that behind the driver's seat was a small truck bed; in it were two figures dressed in torn up rags. There was a mounted crossbow in the truck bed as also, which one of the two grabbed on to it and took aim at Zero. But Zero was fast, he grabbed the buster off his holster and pulled the trigger. The man manning the crossbow was launched back and then fell back-first onto the faded pavement.

The driver looked back after seeing a human-like shape fall off the side. When they saw the body on the ground, they strangled the steering wheel in rage; and began to shift the truck to the right. Zero saw the truck inching closer to him, and acted fast. His hands squeezed the brakes as he came to a screeching halt. The truck shifted to the right, nearly going off-road. The driver fought for control of the vehicle as its front tires dug into the sand. The bandaged soldier in the back was tossed around the truck bed The truck went a few feet down the road, but that didn't stop it.

The driver of the black car had seen what had happened and sped up alongside he swaying truck. From the rolled down window came a set of hand gestures towards the driver in the truck. The truck driver through their hands up in anger, but a held up hand from the car calmed them down. The driver nodded reluctantly, and gaining control, zoomed further down the road.

Zero watched the two vehicles speed ahead of him. They were most likely going after that truck from earlier. That just left the biker and the other car for Zero.

The faded red car came up from behind Zero. The driver revved up his engine and bumped the red bike's rear wheel with his front. Zero felt the car and revved on the accelerator. The red car followed behind him, wanting another chance to get the red biker. Suddenly, he saw the red biker pull something from his belt. He was up to something, but what? Then a glowing green sword appeared from the biker's hand. The car driver was shocked. What the hell was that thing? But before he could figure it out. Zero stabbed the sword directly into the grill of the car. Smoke started billowing from beneath the hood. The driver fought for control, as the car swerved from side to side.

The leather coated biker rode alongside Zero. He pulled out a rusty crowbar and swung it at Zero. The red reploid swerved his bike away, just barely avoiding the crowbar. The biker moved his bike closer to Zero and swung again. Another miss. Zero pulled forward and revved up his bike. The dirt bike zoomed up to Zero's side; the biker preparing another swing. He brought the crowbar down but suddenly felt it stop. He looked and saw the red biker had grabbed the crowbar mid-air and was now gripping it tightly. The dirt bike driver tried to pull it back, but it was no good. Zero yanked the crowbar from the biker's hands, causing him to lose control of his bike. The bike turned over, and the driver was crushed between it and the ground.

The driver of the car was still fighting for control of his vehicle. He was so focused on it that he didn't see the fallen dirt bike along the ground until the biker had gotten the bike off of himself, and looked to the car in horror...

The bike was in pieces, which went everywhere, the biker was tossed in the air, and landed on the hood of the car, obscuring the driver's view. That combined with the smoke-billowing engine caused the red car to run off the road, and flip over. It spun round and round, and finally stopped; metal dented, glass broken, and smoke still coming from beneath the twisted piece of metal that was once was the hood of the car.

Zero pulled over and watched the car wreck occur. Once the car stopped, he drove his bike over to the wreck. The biker's lifeless body lay on the ground. Some of the leather had been torn off, revealing exposed wires and machinery. There was no denying that this man had been a reploid. But Zero paid no mind to that as he searched the pockets of the jacket. He pulled his hands out, empty. Worth a shot he thought to himself. He then made his way over to wreck and heard a dripping noise. He looked towards the sound and saw a dark patch forming in the sand. "Great" Zero grunted in annoyance. The only fuel he had found, and he'd lost it.

Then he remembered the green truck from earlier. They had barrels in the back of their truck. Maybe he could stop them, and convince them to trade for something. And if they weren't interested in trading then… Well, Zero would do something; but he wasn't sure what.

The only problem with this was the two other vehicles that passed him after the green truck. He wanted to deny it, but he knew somehow that they were linked to the truck. Nonetheless, he had nothing else to do; so he got back on the bike and began to ride down the road.

He accelerated further down the road, hoping to catch up to the green pickup. Soon he could make out three vehicles ahead of him. The green pickup was trapped in between the massive red truck, and the black car. Not wanting to get involved, Zero began to break gently and pull over to the left side of the road.

The man in the back of the truck took hold of the crossbow and fired an arrow with a rope attached to the end of it. The arrow pierced through the driver's door, and the red truck shifted to the left. The pickup was pulled to the side by the rope. The rope was pulled harder and harder until the door was yanked from the truck. The driver, whose leg had been pierced by the arrow, went flying out. As the green pickup swerved, and then came to a stop. The truck and car pulled up to the side, and two raiders came out of the car, ignoring the driver laying on the broken-off door. Once they were out another door opened, a large, muscular man stepped out. He wore black shoulder pads and leather pants. He had a dark red mohawk upon his head and a stern look on his face

Zero pulled over to the left side of the road; and hid behind a large rock in the sand. From there he watched as men in tattered clothes get out of the vehicles and forced the woman out of the pickup. She was then forced down on the ground. However, one of the raiders looked back into the pickup and reached in. When they came back out; Zero could see something squirming in his hands. He pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look at what it was; and once he did, he was a little surprised.

A small girl was trying hard to get out of the grasp of the raider. She looked no older than six, had black hair, and wore a tattered shirt and pants. Must be that woman's daughter thought Zero.

The girl was dropped by the raider and looked up. She then saw her mother; and crawled to her, shaking with fear. Both mother and child held each other close, each thankful that the other was safe. Their little reunion was short lived though, as the driver from the truck had taken off the goggles and bandanna; revealing an angry woman's face.

Now that they were in full view, Zero could see the driver's full attire. She had a brown leather jacket with the right sleeve cut off at the elbow, black pants that went just an inch below her thighs, and a pair of worn out combat-boots. She looked to about her early-mid twenties. When she stepped forward towards them, the mother and her daughter looked up in terror.

No one noticed the man on the ground slowly come to, and look upon them.

After what felt like a millennium, the mother spoke up:

"P-please, we don't want any trouble; w-we just want to leave-

"The gas" grunted the woman in the jacket, "now."

The raiders yanked the mother up and pushed her towards the back of the pickup.

"The gas, hurry up!" they stammered.

The mother climbed to the top of the truck bed and began to move the fuel drums over to the tailgate. The raiders were all facing the pickup, so none of them had noticed the pickup driver silently start to move over to them. He slowly pulled a large, silver blade out of his pocket, and began to move closer towards the woman.

"Don't do it". Zero murmured silently to himself. He had been in enough fights to know how one could potentially turn out. The man (who Zero assumed was the little girl's father) was only one, the raiders outnumbered him by three, plus the mohawk man along with the black and red-haired woman and whoever else was in the car. That, and his leg had already been punctured by the arrow. It would be better just to walk away, or to wait until the raiders had left.

It was what Zero always did in situations like this.

It wasn't until the man was inches from the woman, that the little girl was able to see him. When she did, she looked up in shock, amazed he was still alive.

"P-papa?" she stuttered

Suddenly the woman turned around and grabbed the man by his shirt, causing him to drop the knife. She then pinned his body against the side of the pickup. The mother looked up from the truck bed and saw her husband. She immediately jumped off and ran towards him, before being held back by the man in the mohawk man.

The woman took her hand off the man's shirt and then grabbed his neck, squeezing hard. The man opened his mouth, but only short, gurgling sounds came out; begging for oxygen to calm them. A wicked grin appeared on the woman's face. Enjoyment filled her up as she watched the man suffer. Then she placed her free hand across the man's eyes and began to force his head to turn. From the man's neck came unnatural noises that sounded like bones cracking. The man felt his head turn unnaturally; he tried to scream, but the came out were tiny, cracked wheezes.

The girl saw the man struggling, and squirmed out of the raider's grasp.

"Papa, no!" she wailed as she ran over to her father.

But before she got there, a snapping noise echoed around them. Then the man fell to the ground in front of his daughter. Eyes empty, and not a breath from his mouth.

The girl woman broke free of the raiders and ran alongside her daughter. Both looked upon the man who had cared for them, had saved their lives, who loved them dearly. Tears began forming in both their eyes. The mother gripped her daughter, closely; letting her weep into her chest while she shed her tears silently.

The raiders around broke into hysterics, laughing wildly at the scene before them. It was as if to them someone had been telling a joke, and just delivered the greatest punchline ever. The mohawk man simply just stood in place, the same stoic expression never changing.

Meanwhile, the woman looked upon the lifeless man in pleasure. She always loved doing things like this. It was as if she had found a new drug that fueled her up, and left her wanting more.

She walked up to the mother and daughter. She reached a hand down towards the little girl and yanked her up by the shirt. The mother tried to hold on, but it was no good. The woman brought the little girl up to her face."Mmmh!" The girl whined as she was brought closer towards the face. The woman's sinister grin widening on her face the more the small girl struggled.

Before she could do anything, the sound of a motorcycle revving up came from behind. They all looked behind them and saw a red motorcycle drive past them on the dirt from the side of the truck. The driver briefly made eye contact with the girl and woman, and went around the green pickup, and got back onto the road, before riding away.

The woman dropped the child and screamed loudly; before running back to her truck. "Come on, come on!" she shouted to the other raiders. Starting her engine, ready to pursue the lone rider.

"Resna!" came a stern voice. She stopped and looked towards the mohawk man.

"Don't bother with him, we've already accomplished our task" he simply stated.

"NO!" shouted Resna. "No one gets away from me Barris, NO ONE!"

"It's not part of the mission, our orders were to find the stolen fuel, and bring it back; along with the thief who took it."

"I'm in charge of this mission, so what I say goes; I say we find that biker, and gut him!"

"We're already low enough on fuel as is, and we don't know how long it'll take to find him" stated Barris. "We could potentially go through all the fuel we just got back. And all for what, some miserable biker?"

Resna seethed in anger. She knew Barris was right. It could take a long time to find him, and her master was not keen on being wasteful. She narrowed her eyes towards the red bike riding away. By now it seemed that he was almost invisible, he was so hard to make out.

Resna sighed in defeat, then turned to her raiders.

"Load up the fuel, then put those two in Barris' car." She grunted. The raiders nodded and began moving the fuel to Resna's truck. The mother and her daughter were forced up, and into the black car. The small girl looked back at the seemingly shrinking bike. She looked back, hoping he would turn around; but he just kept getting smaller, and smaller, before she couldn't see anything at all.

She sighed to herself as she sat in the car. Her eyes were getting droopy, as she slowly lowered her head into her mother's lap. As she slept, she dreamed. She dreamed of her beloved father. She dreamed of what would happen to her and her mother. But the one thing she did dream about was that biker, and one the question that plagued her mind while thinking of him.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Moonlight shone over the desert, as Zero had finished setting up his small camp. He sat just outside his tent, reminiscing over the long day he had. All the while, he was sipping slowly on an E tank.

These things had been around before even he was created. They were used to power up reploids, and to keep them running. They were generally made from energy crystals but could use oil as a substitute.

Yes, E tanks were definitely a good way to keep reploids up and running; which is why it was unfortunate that this was Zero's last one.

Zero knew he needed to find fuel fast, and was mad at himself for missing out on the opportunity to get earlier that day. He had failed to get any of the fuel from the vehicles he wrecked earlier, and the green truck that passed him.

 _Maybe you could've if you had helped out those people._

There it was again, that nagging voice from inside that always came about whenever he avoided conflict; like a parent teaching a child a lesson for being bad.

It bothered him every time he heard it; not because it gave him a headache, (though that certainly didn't help matters) but because it was right. He could've helped out those people by fending off the raiders. And if he did, who knows? They might have given him a share of their fuel.

 _And maybe that girl's father would still be alive._

He cringed at this thought. Zero didn't have any problems with killing reploids as long as it was justified by them attacking him. But he never killed the innocent. It was an unspoken code of honor that he had applied to himself.

But he was not responsible for that man's death, right? It was that woman's fault. She was his murderer, she killed him in cold blood.

 _While you just stood there and watched._

Zero sighed to himself; held up his E tank. He smacked the bottom of it, trying to get out any remaining fuel left in there. Once satisfied, he tossed the can away.

Forget the man, and forget his daughter too. He had much bigger things to worry about than some little girl and her family. He needed to find fuel, and find it fast. If he didn't then he would surely end up dead; he was positive that he didn't want that. Right?

Zero pushed these thoughts out of his head, as he closed his eyes.

The sun shone brightly in the morning, waking Zero up from a horrific sleep. Once he was awake he broke down what little camp there was. Then he got on his bike and began searching for fuel and energy.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Want to give a shout out to** **CrystalRe** **i,** **who gave me some good feedback on the last two chapters. Thanks so much on the reviews, I greatly appreciate it.**

 **Chapter 2:**

This was starting to look bad. Zero rode on his bike all morning and hadn't found anything, no fuel, no settlements, nothing. The cracked fuel gauge on his bike showed that he had less than half of a tank of fuel left; if he didn't find anything soon, then he'd be shit out of luck.

The sun had soon fully risen over the east, bringing noon with it. Zero felt the heat of the sun beating down on him as he rode along the jagged road. He soon pulled over to get his bearings together from the burning heat.

Zero then saw a large rock which had a large enough crevice near the bottom for someone to sit underneath it. He walked over to the small opening in the rock, slumped down and sighed.

Zero was very glad that he wasn't human because then the heat would feel even worse. Reploid bodies were much more durable than those of humans, but that didn't mean reploids were invincible. Too much exposure to the sun or any other extreme heat source could cause a replod's internal systems to overheat; which in turn led to internal damage.

The only reploids not affected by heat were those who were specifically built to withstand high temperatures, but Zero was not one of these reploids and had to be sure to stay cool to prevent overheating.

Zero knew he had to get up, but the shade kept him under the rock. He wanted to savor this moment for all that it was. Shade was not common in the wasteland, so whenever he found it, Zero savored it for all it was worth. In fact, why not just stay here for the day? It's not like he was in a hurry to get somewhere. Yes, that's what he'd do. Just him, his bike, and that green jeep?

Zero blinked. He got up from underneath the rock and went to his bike. He opened the box behind the seat and pulled out his binoculars. He looked down the dirt road and saw what looked to be a dirty, green, jeep; that looked as if it had been used by the military. Finally, he had found something. Granted there was no guarantee that there was still fuel in the vehicle, but he figured he should check it out anyway.

With a turn of a key in the ignition, he slowly brought his motorcycle over to the ancient hunk of metal. As he got closer he could see that the jeep had more dents and gashes than he had seen from his binoculars. A huge crack had taken over the bent windshield, and the wipers had been warped out of position.

Zero stepped off his bike and put his binoculars back in the box. He looked around him, there were no signs of life around him, (aside from the occasional insect) but he wasn't taking any chances. He kept his hand close to the buster on his holster and walked towards the automobile's rotting corpse.

Zero approached the side of the vehicle and looked down underneath for the fuel tank. When he found it he knocked on it and heard the metal tank resonate the knocking noise from within. Empty.

Zero sighed in disappointment. Another false hope down the drain. The one vehicle he had found, and not a drop of fuel. He began to crawl back out from underneath when a rustling noise came from above him.

He stopped suddenly, before slowly crawling all the way out from underneath the jeep. Something was in the jeep or someone. That knock on the tank must have alerted them of an intruder.

Zero stood back and began to reach for his buster; ready for whatever came out of the jeep. He began to slowly walk over to the side door of the jeep; the rustling and shifting increased in volume as he got closer. Soon he found himself at the side door of the jeep, from where the noises came.

The question now was what was on the other side? Would he have to end up fighting again? Maybe he should just leave and forget it all happened?...

Before he could come to a decision, the door was flung open. "Ky-aaaaa!" came a yell, a sudden flash of tan tackled him to the ground. Before Zero had time to get up, he found himself face to face with the barrel of his buster (which had gotten knocked out of his hands when he was tackled).

At the other end of the buster was a woman who wore tattered rags that went all the way to her knees, and had a rope tied around her waist like a belt. Her hair was an overgrown jungle of brunette, and dirt and grime covered her face along with a sly grin. Clearly, the wasteland had taken its toll on her.

She sniggered like a child as she stared down at Zero, who hadn't said a word as he waited for what would happen next.

"Heh heh heh heh..." the woman continued her childlike laughter "Well well, looks like this little nimrod was a bit too careless, wasn't he?" Zero said nothing and kept a straight face.

"Well don't be so surprised, heck I even surprise _myself_ with my genius!" she boasted. She stopped for a moment then continued, "Intellect, that's what it takes, intellectuals are the ones who survive. Like me of course, wouldn't you agree with me, nimrod?" Zero remained silent.

"Not much of a speaker eh? Well, I guess if someone like you did have something to say, it be pretty stupid." she went on in her ramblings. "Whoever they are, they certainly like the sound of their own voice," thought Zero.

"Right, stand up!" she said suddenly. Zero slowly rose up to his feet, the buster still inches away from his face. He could now see that the woman stood just a little shorter than he was, just a little taller than Ciel, but not as tall as him. "Now then, let's take a stroll over to red and black over there," She motioned the buster to Zero's bike " and find out what this genius caught!" Zero began to walk slowly towards his bike, all the while the buster was still pointed directly at him, the woman's hand still didn't dare move from the trigger.

When they reached the bike they stopped. Zero stayed still, unsure of what the woman would do to him.

"Right, right," she said suddenly. "First and foremost, how much juice do ya have?" She then knocked on the bike's fuel tank, and a slightly hollow knock came back.

"Hmm…" she muttered, "Not much, but fuel is fuel." She then turned her attention to the metallic box that rested behind the seat. She grinned. "Now, let's see what other treasures you're hiding…" She began to walk backward.

Zero watched her as she examined the box. If she would be looking through it, then she would be distracted, which would give him the chance disarm her. That is unless she was as smart as her ego had said.

She stopped just as she got the box, the buster still pointed at Zero. "Alright Nimrod, show me what's inside." Drat. Looks like she wasn't as careless as Zero had thought. He began to walk slowly towards the rusty metallic cube and pulled the top off...

Within the container was all sorts of miscellaneous objects that Zero had kept with him. Some of these things had been in the box before he found it such as pieces of a tent, torn cloth, a cracked compass, binoculars, and a set of tools. However, as the months passed, Zero had kept some things he had found such as E tanks, but he also used it to store his belongings that he had gotten from his time with the resistance; more specifically, the weapons Cerveau had made for him…

"Junk, junk, eeugh" groaned the woman "You must really be stupid if this crap is all that you've got to show for yourself!" The buster was now right against Zero's head as he rummaged through the box for the woman. Then she stopped and pointed to something in the box. "Gimme."

Zero looked to where she was pointing, and saw a short white pole, with two buttons on the side, one black, one green. He recognized it immediately, the triple rod. He knew that in her hands, said object could be very dangerous.

That is if she knew how to use it properly...

"Well come on Nimrod, we geniuses don't like to be kept waiting!" Shouted the shaggy-haired woman. Zero complied and handed her the rod, not a word from his mouth. The woman began to examine the rod, curious of what it was, and what it could do.

"So, what is this exactly?" she asked, puzzled by the nature of the rod. "Tell me, how does it work?" Zero remained silent.

"Hey, I asked you a question! How does it work?" she shouted again.

"The black one hit that" Zero muttered.

The woman looked and saw the two colored buttons. She then looked back at Zero. "If you're trying to trick me, it won't work. Tricking someone as smart as I am almost impos- Eep!"

The rod had suddenly extended out, catching the woman off guard, and causing her to drop the buster. The rod had extended out to Zero's position, where he swiftly grabbed it and yanked it out of her hands, then used the extended end to swipe her off her feet.

"Bwah!" she yelled as she landed on her bottom to the ground. She saw the buster near her right hand and began to reach for it, but before she could grab it, a red boot stepped on it. She looked up and saw her former prisoner staring down at her, with the rod pointed directly at her.

Zero pushed the green button on the side, which activated a glowing green blade at the end of the rod, which he promptly pointed at the woman's face.

"No, please! Don't hurt me, I'm too smart to die!" she panicked.

"Fuel", grunted Zero.

"Huh?"

"Where's your gas?" he asked again, slightly louder than before.

"I-I don't have any, I swear!" she stated frantically, "You're the first vehicle I've seen in days!"

Zero wasn't so sure. She had to be hiding some within the jeep. The only way to find out would be to investigate.

"Up," he said, the woman stood up, Zero still had the rod glowing green. He motioned for her to back up towards the rusted hull, which she did so, fear still within her.

When they got to the jeep. Zero opened the door, and the vilest scents filled his nostrils. Moments like this made him regret being programmed with a sense of smell. He motioned for the woman to get in, which she did, and Zero followed soon after.

The jeep was filled with all sorts of torn cloth, and rope. The front seats had been taken out, leaving only the back row, which was covered by a sheet. Zero began to turn over all the sheets in the empty jeep for anything, any sign of fuel but found nothing.

SIghing to himself, he began to climb out of the jeep and walk back to his bike. It looked like this had been another false hope. What was he to do? He needed fuel but had no idea where to find it.

Meanwhile, the woman looked back to him, confused. Where was he going? Why was he just letting her go? All these questions filled her brain as she watched him walk back. She jumped out of the jeep, and head towards him.

"You're just gonna go? Just like that?"

Zero stopped for a moment, then looked back towards the confused woman.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll forget this encounter ever happened," he stated bluntly and continued to walk back to his bike.

The woman was left in awe. Not only at the fact that he was just walking away, but also at his skills. This was someone who was a survivor, who knew how to get out of a bad situation. Someone who had outsmarted her! The smartest person she knew! In fact, he could probably even outsmart…

A sly grin appeared on her face as an idea crept into her brain, she ran towards Zero, who was just now getting back on his bike.

"Hey, Nimrod!" she shouted. Zero sighed, the constant use of the name "Nimrod" was starting to get annoying. He looked towards the woman as if to say "what?"

"Okay, so I don't have any fuel. That much is true," she said. Zero stared back, disinterested in the statement.

"But," said the woman suddenly, "Maybe, just maybe I know where some is located ."

Zero blinked. Did he hear that correctly? Did she know where to find fuel? That was impossible, she was probably just trying to get another chance to steal his own fuel supply. But he had to be sure nonetheless.

"You know how to get fuel?" he questioned.

"Ah, tut tut" teased the woman, "I know _where_ fuel is, not _how_ to get it," she said. "That's where you come in."

"What're you getting at?" he asked.

"I'll make you a deal, I'll show you where this little deposit is, " she offered, "and in return, you use your, skills to help me get as much fuel as possible, which we'll split 50-50 once we're done. What'd Ya say?"

Zero understood now, someone had already gotten to where the fuel was and was most likely guarding it with their life. That meant that if he were to try and get said fuel, he would have to probably fight. Which he didn't like doing. But he needed fuel bad to stay alive, and at this point, he'd do anything for fuel.

Despite feeling he'd regret it later, he grumbled to himself and turned to the woman.

"Get on", he muttered.

The woman smiled, and climbed onto the old bike, wedging herself between Zero, and the box. "Smart choice," she said. "by the way, I'm Anna, and you are?"

Zero turned the key in the ignition and immediately revved up the bike. The noise of the engine blocking out the question.

Anna frowned, displeased with the response.

"No need to be rude", she muttered. "Eh, Nimrod suits you anyway." she joked.

"Just be quiet, and tell me where to go," said Zero, annoyed.

Zero shifted the bike to drive, and the two rode out of the dirt road, and back onto the tarmac; on their way to fuel, to salvation.


End file.
